MP STEPHEN O’Brien has pledged to help about 10,000 constituents to tackle tinnitus – the medical term for noises inside the ears or head.

Conservative Mr O’Brien, whose Eddisbury constituency covers a slice of Crewe including Leighton Hospital, made the pledge after donning special ‘tinnitus headphones’ offered by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID).

RNID research reveals that 15% of people have experienced tinnitus, but 70% of GPs surveyed by the charity have never had any training on the condition.

Mr O’Brien said: ‘I was shocked to put on the tinnitus headphones and find out just how difficult it can be to relax at home or concentrate on working with constant buzzing or ringing in your ears.

‘I’ll be speaking to my local Primary Care Trust to make sure the estimated 10,000 tinnitus sufferers in Eddisbury are getting the medical support they need.’